


Old scars

by LoveLetterPolaroids



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Puppy Piles, The avengers are all bros, past underage prostitution
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-10
Updated: 2017-07-10
Packaged: 2018-11-30 13:50:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11464905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoveLetterPolaroids/pseuds/LoveLetterPolaroids
Summary: The team helps Clint feel better about his past





	Old scars

Everyone knew something was wrong when Coulson was still in the tower at noon. The man had never been late for work or taken a sick day in the time they had known him. 

So when the last of them trickled into the kitchen as they woke up they were all shocked. Bruce almost asked if he was okay, but he had been given a death stare from Coulson so he shut his mouth and went back to making his smoothie.

Everyone was slightly tense, barely talking until Coulson encouraged Clint, who was sitting beside him silently, to go take a shower before Phil had to leave.

Once they heard the shower turn on Coulson confirmed with Jarvis that Count was actually in the shower before standing, looking at the team

"What's going on, Phil, is Clint okay?" Steve asked

Phil sighed "not completely. It's not my place to say what happened, but he's having a hard day. I'd appreciate it if you could watch over him today"

"Of course we will" Bruce nodded, looking concerned "are you worried that he'll hurt himself?"

"No, no. Nothing like that. I just don't want him to sit in his room or on the roof all day thinking too much" Phil explained

"Why can't you tell us what happened?" Natasha asked, not liking being left out of something like this

"It's personal to him. He'll tell you if he wants to" Phil said, wishing he could say more to help them see how important this was, but he simply couldn't. 

They all agreed despite not liking to be shut out, it wasn't like they always told each other everything. Everyone had secrets.

When Clint came back Phil had to leave almost immediately, knowing he would be in trouble but not caring too much. Clint’s mental health was more important to him than half a day of work. 

Coulson gave Clint a soft kiss and held him tightly for longer than usual before leaving, wishing he could stay longer.

The Avengers were quick to act though, once they saw Clint heading towards the elevator

"Clint, buddy, why don't you come watch a movie with us?" Tony said quickly

Clint looked like he would say no for a moment before looking at all of them and smiling slightly, a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes

"Phil told you to not leave me alone, right?" He asked

"Yeah" Bruce sighed, never one to lie 

"But we really do want you with us. If you're up for it" he added

Clint wandered further into the kitchen, not looking at Natasha specifically because he always hated keeping secrets from her. Could he really tell anyone these things though?

He had told Phil and look what happened.

"Alright" he said softly, even if he felt more like hiding in his bed 

He knew that that wouldn't happen now.

Clint walked with everyone else to the living room, sitting on the couch and pulling a pillow into his lap while someone turned on a random comedy. They all half watched it, obviously concerned with other things, until Tony grew bored and started a game of monopoly with Natasha and Steve.

Of course, that escalated quickly as it became obvious that both boys were trying to cheat, and Clint did give a half smile as Natasha threatened the men 

"I would be careful, she's always armed" he hummed, trying to distract himself 

"I don't doubt that" Steve chuckled, holding out all the fake money he had collected as an offering to Natasha 

"Hmm.. not accepted!" Nat decided, hitting Steve's hand so the money flew in the air. Clint was convinced they were all children, and soon the whole team was up, throwing money and game pieces at each other.

Clint stood up as well despite his whole body feeling like it was being made of lead. He held up the box from the game as a shield, throwing game pieces at Thor and actually starting to laugh soon. 

His mood hit one extreme, where he was laughing hysterically and playing with his friends before it dropped to another and suddenly he was sobbing. As soon as the game had started it was over, and he felt someone touch his hand 

"Clint?" Natasha spoke softly, helping him sit again. As much as he wanted to he couldn't stop crying, and soon everyone had surrounded him, evolving into a cuddle pile until he was relatively calm again, only sniffling now

"I'm sorry" he whispered

"Don't be, it's okay" Nat promised, which meant a lot since she was usually first to let other deal with emotions. 

"No, it's not. I-I ruined everyone's fun" he said sadly. It was silly, but he was already upset today and this hadn't helped.

"Don't worry about it, bird boy" Tony said, making Clint chuckle slightly at the nickname "I can throw game pieces at cap any day of the week. You're a little more important than that" 

Clint nodded, crying a little again against Nat's shoulder before he tried to speak 

"It..."

"You don't have to tell us what happened.. not if you don't want to" Bruce said, touching Clint's leg

"I want to" he murmured. He didn't want to keep any secrets, and maybe if some of them agreed with him when could convince Phil to change his mind

"Wh-when I was in the circus, at first, the money wasn't great. My brother didn't want to ask anyone for money though, so, he sold himself" Clint started, feeling better with all his friends around him

"I didn't know at first, he just told me he was getting good tips when he was able to buy me new clothes or actual meals. But I found out eventually. I hated it. I kept telling him that it wasn't safe, that we didn't need money that badly but he wouldn't listen. So I thought I would do it too" 

At that point he was pretty sure nobody else was breathing, was he even breathing? 

"It wasn't fair that he was the only one spending time on his back so he could pay for my things" Clint whimpered 

Everyone waited for more to be said, but Natasha spoke first

"Clint.. you were eleven when you ran away" She whispered, horrified, making the group contain similar gasps

"Yeah" he murmured, trying to put on a tough face "I'll spare you the details, but one man took me up on the offer. H-he got sentenced to prison today" he explained. Phil had made sure the case stayed deep under wraps so Clint didn't have to explain to the whole world what happened. Clint had begged and begged for Phil to let it go, but Phil hadn't budged.

"Is that not good though? He cannot hurt any more children in prison" Thor said, confused as to why Clint was upset instead of happy.

"But I asked him to do it. I wanted him to touch me, for the money" Clint said, sobbing softly once more. He felt the need to specify that it was just for the money, not wanting to even imply that he had enjoyed what happened. In fact, it had been the most excruciating pain he could remember. 

"You were a kid, Clint. Children can't consent to that sort of thing. He shouldn't have done it even if you begged him." Natasha whispered, wiping Clint's face gently with her sleeve

"He's probably done that to other kids, not just you. You're helping a lot of kids by putting him away" Nat added

That seemed to be what sunk in, because realistically, he wouldn't trust his own words if they were coming from any other person.

"You think so?" He whispered

"Definitely" all the Avengers agreed.

That night when Phil got home he found all of them asleep, still in their puppy pile, and instead of try to pry anyone away from each other he made space for himself beside Clint and the side of the couch, slipping in to hold his boy close. He knew that he could trust the team with helping his boy, he just wondered why there was fake money covering every inch of the floor.


End file.
